Invest in India News

Resorts and hotels are not allowed to be constructed inside National Parks and protected parks. As per the proviso under Section 33 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, no construction of commercial tourist lodges, hotels, zoos and safari parks shall be undertaken inside a Sanctuary except with the prior approval of the National Board for Wildlife. By virtue of Section 35 (8) of the said Act, this provision is applicable to the National Parks also.

Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Textiles delivered an inaugural address at the launch of “Africa manual 2011- opportunities unlimited”, here today. Speaking on the occasion the Minister said, “India is keen to partner with countries in Africa not only for buying minerals but also providing technology for mining and exploration and value addition with long-term buy-back commitments”. India is also committed to work with our partners in Africa for addressing the infrastructure deficit.

In order to further liberalize the portfolio investment route, the Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee had announced in the 2011-12 Budget to permit SEBI registered Mutual Funds (MFs) to accept subscriptions for equity schemes from foreign investors who meet the Know Your Customer/client(KYC) requirements. After due consultations with the Regulators and other stakeholders, the scheme was finalized to be announced in the first week of August 2011.

The Union Government has framed new rules, viz., the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011 under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 for monitoring receipt and utilization of foreign contributions by any person in the Country.

Both the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 and foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules 2011 have come into effect with effect from 01.05.2011. Both the Act and the rules are available in this Ministry’s website www.mha.nic.in

Bureau Veritas announced Monday the acquisition of Civil-Aid Technoclinic Pty Ltd, an Indian company specialized in conformity assessment services of public and industrial infrastructure.

Founded in 1998, Civil-Aid offers a full range of quality assurance and technical control services, from design to construction and including design review, site inspection and testing of building materials.

The Times of India Monday reported that Dutch consumer electronics firm Royal Philips is keen on turning India into an innovation hub for the development of more locally relevant products, particularly for its domestic appliances segment.

The Times indicated that Philips, which had acquired Chennai-based kitchen appliances firm Preethi in January this year, said it is looking to leverage on local technology as it looks at emerging markets contribute 40 per cent of global revenues by 2015, up from 34 per cent at present.

The Commerce Secretary, Shri Rahul Khullar has said that India and Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a major step in the direction of larger vision of an East Asia partnership. He was speaking after co-Charing the first meeting of Joint Committee of India Japan CEPA with Mr. Akitaka Saiki Ambassador of Japan in India, here today. The CEPA enters into force today.

Vanpic Ports was developed jointly by RAS-Investment Authority and Hyderabad-based Matrix Enport in the ratio 51:49 respectively. With this deal, Prasad's stake in Vanpic Ports has come down to 9%, indicated the report.

Venture capital (VC) firm Sequoia Capital India has invested another $8 million (Rs.35.5 crore) in Prizm Payment Services Pvt. Ltd, an electronic payment service provider. Sequoia has now invested about $15 million in the company, with a $7 million funding in the first round in 2008, reported Livemint Friday.

Loney Antony, managing director, Prizm Payments, noted that Prizm, which deploys, manages and operates point of sales (PoS) networks for banks, will use the funds mainly for setting up more ATMs.

G+J International is acquiring a 78.75 percent interest in MaXposure Media Group India Pvt. Ltd. The remaining 21.25 percent are held by the Group's founder, Prakash Johari, who will continue to serve as CEO & Managing Director after G+J's takeover of the majority. His brother and co-founder Vikas Johari will be appointed COO.

Vserv, the leader in Mobile In-App Advertising in India, announced that it has closed $3 Million in Series A funding by IDG Ventures India. Vserv is a leading mobile advertising network focused on emerging markets having delivered In-App and Wap advertising in over 200 countries for leading Fortune 500 brands.

IDG Ventures India is a leading venture capital fund investing in technology-related product and services companies in India. The investment represents the first VC investment in mobile advertising in India since 2008.

Danone Monday signed an agreement with Wockhardt Group to acquire its nutrition business and thus entering the baby nutrition and medical nutrition markets in India.

Under the agreement, Danone will acquire Wockhardt’s nutrition business and brands as well as its related industrial operations from Carol Info Service (located in Punjab, India) for a total of approximately €250 million.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and MetLife India, an affiliate of MetLife Inc., announced Friday that PNB will be inducted as a joint venture partner in the company. The Board of PNB, in its meeting held on 28th July, accepted the offer made by MetLife India for acquiring 30% stake in the company.

The transaction is subject to approvals from IRDA, RBI and other regulatory bodies.

Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, announced that it has invested into Spice Digital Limited, one of the largest Mobile Value Added Services (mVAS) players in India with presence in close to 20 countries. In connection with this agreement, MediaTek will invest US$ 20 million.